Resurrection and Razing
by XStrawberryDuckFeathersX
Summary: An assignment to kill one of the Legendary Witches of Johto goes terribly,leaving Maka stricken with grief.However,the Witch she was trying to kill uses the power of the Legendary Bird Ho-oh, a Pokémon capable of resurrecting the dead. Maka tries to trick the Witch into resurrecting Soul,but little does she know that her actions will put both Johto and the DWMA at risk...
1. Chapter 1 ,Maka Albarn VS Death The Kid

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER OR POKEMON, AND I DID NOT DRAW THE COVER IMAGE FOR THIS FANFIC. CREDIT FOR THE ARTWORK GOES TO KEN SUGIMORI FOR THE HO-OH IMAGE,AND YOSHIYUKI ITO (I think)FOR THE MAKA IMAGE.  
The Witch in the story is my O.C, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use her in your own stories. Thank you!**

**My biggest inspirations to write this were 8HazzardSandersdtk and the new game, 'Pokemon Conquest'. Thanks, 8HazzardSandersdtk! Enjoy the story,everyone!**

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**WARNING! DO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT LIKE CHARACTER DEATH,PROFANITIES OR VIOLENCE!**

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Death the Kid stood proudly next to his twin Duskull. They dissolved into purple light and reappeared as a set of spiked brass knuckles on his hands. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for a practice battle with Maka and her deadly scythe, Soul.

"I'm always ready," Kid mumbled.

Maka dashed towards him, holding her scythe tightly in her palms. She hacked manically. Kid blocked her every attack with unbelievable agility, and retaliated with a powerful punch. The spikes from his weapon scraped across her stomach, and she lost her footing. Maka knew that she had no time to tend to her injuries; all she could do was fight back.

"This isn't over just yet, Kid," she said, with a confident grin; despite their close friendship, their battles were as intense as if they were sworn enemies.

Maka noticed Kid's fist out of the corner of her eye. She startled him when she stopped his attack with her scythe handle.

"Nice try."

Maka shoved it forward, and the blade dug into Kid's shoulder. He recoiled in agony, but it wasn't the pain that bothered him the most. His eyes became restless, flicking back and forth between both of his shoulders. One was fine, but the other was covered in thick red blood. His symmetry had been completely ruined.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT! Let's go! SOUL RESONANCE!"

Kid cleared his thoughts, and focused on nothing other than the soul wavelengths of his Duskull. The trio's souls started to combine, and Kid was enveloped in heavy black smoke. Maka could sense the extreme power that he currently possessed.

"SHADOW BALL!" he cried, as the voices of his Duskull echoed in the background.

Kid's daunting eyes glowed bright red, and he hurled the surrounding dark smoke towards Maka and her weapon, along with a flurry of bone pieces shaped like a Duskull's mask. Maka twirled her scythe like a baton to deflect the skull shapes, and they scattered on the floor.

"Maka, I'm getting dizzy…" Soul mumbled.

"Hang in there, Soul! We'll win this!"

Maka continued to spin her scythe. The ball of black smoke surrounded it, and its spinning motion created a terrifying twister of ghostly energy that whirled around the weapon. Maka lifted it high into the air, and slammed it into the ground. The floor cracked open, and the black smoke billowed out, creating vague shapes of howling spirits. They tugged at Kid's body, and tried to pull him into the hellish aura. All of a sudden, his Duskull fired blue embers towards the spirits. Kid tore free of their grip, and they evanesced.

"You're quite the meister, Maka…" Kid said, with his eyes still adhered to his bleeding shoulder.

Maka withdrew a bandage from her pocket, and carefully dressed the wound, doing her best to ignore Kid's whining about his symmetry being ruined further by it.

"It's great that Lord Death let us use Pokémon now, but I'd still rather use Soul," Maka explained, much to Soul's delight.

Kid's Duskull clung onto his arms. "These two are wonderful partners. They're so identical and perfect," He squealed, tapping their skull masks affectionately.

Soul returned to human form, and swayed on the spot with his hands over his mouth. Maka edged away just in time when he was violently sick, spewing mustard-coloured vomit all over the floor.

"It must be hard for you having to adjust to not having Liz or Patty around, huh?"

Kid's voice became a low-pitched whisper. "It's difficult without Patty and Liz by my side, but…I'm coping just fine, thank you."

Maka turned towards a familiar voice that had yelled her name. A tall girl ran daintily across the grounds of the DWMA, with a Lopunny bouncing by her side. It was Tsubaki and her Pokémon pet, Lola.

"Lord Death told me to tell you that he needs to speak with you as soon as possible,and I really do hope that you or Soul aren't in trouble..."


	2. Chapter 2 ,Lord Death's Assignment

After she had taken a refreshing shower, Maka lay on her bed reading through a brochure of the Unova region. Its cities were extremely technologically advanced, and the towns looked quiet and humble. The Pokémon native to the region were like none she had seen in other regions, ranging from electrical zebras to living,breathing ice-cream cones and rubbish bags. Maka loved the DWMA's new partnership with the Pokémon regions; it allowed for her adventures as a meister to take her even further around the world. They allowed her to meet new people, and find wondrous new creatures roaming the lands. She slapped it down onto the bed when she realised she'd gotten sidetracked. She breathed on her mirror, and used her finger to write '42-42-564' into the mist. Her reflection faded to reveal the Death Room, and Lord Death appeared out of nowhere.

"Hiya! How's it going,Maka?" he chirped, startling both Maka and her pet Turtwig, Snappy; Spirit waved at her in the background, but Maka chose to ignore him.

"Hey, Lord Death! " Maka greeted, stroking Snappy's soft soily shell. "Tsubaki told me that you needed to speak with me about something, right?"

The Grim Reaper pondered for a second. "Ah, yes. I have an assignment for you and Soul."

Soul came rushing in upon hearing his name, wolfing down a slice of pizza. "Did someone say my name?"

"Hello there, Soul. I'll need you two to make your way to the Bell Tower in the Johto region. A witch has set fire to it, and she threatens to burn the entire region to a crisp! I'd like you two to thwart her plans and make sure the Johto region does not get damaged by her any further. Are you two up for that?"

Soul leaned against the door, sulking about never getting the time to sit down and relax. "Damn! Not cool!"

"Right on it!" Maka cheered, faking her joy to hide her partner's disgust. "Come on, Soul, let's go!"

She placed her brochure in a nearby drawer and fed Snappy a Sour Poffin, before donning her jacket and heading out for the Johto Region. She couldn't wait to see what wonders awaited her in the region, since most of her assignments took place in Sinnoh. Soul,however, was not so eager. He slumped down the stairs.

"This had better be good."


	3. Chapter 3 ,The Tale of the Rainbow Bird

Maka and Soul soared through the skies on a pair of graceful Pidgeot. The long feathers on their heads flowed like ribbons in the wind. Soul unravelled a fading map.

"Bell Tower should be just up-"

He was rendered speechless. Weapon and meister both gazed into the pile of smouldering wood that lay ahead of them. Screaming civilians darted around like headless chickens. The smell of smoke filled Soul and Maka's nostrils, and they could feel the heat growing more intense as they got closer.

"Wow, that's a big fire," Soul gasped.

They left their Pidgeot near the entrance of what was left over of Bell Tower, and they waited patiently for their riders to return to them.

"Excuse me," Maka called, "can anyone tell me what happened here? We're here to help! I'm Maka, a weapon meister. He's Soul, my weapon," she said, pointing to him.

A trembling little boy approached her. She knelt down and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and the trembling began to settle.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked politely.

Tears flowed from his eyes. "There was a lady dressed as the big fire bird in the stories Daddy tells me! She shot a ball of fire at Bell Tower and it all burned down! I'm scared!"

Soul flicked frantically through a book of Johto Legends. "I think he means Ho-Oh, the rainbow Pokémon. It was said to have been on the top of Bell Tower, but then it flew away when the tower on the west of Ecruteak City burned down somehow."

Soul examined the sketch of the bird. It was beautifully-coloured,with a golden tail and a scarlet body. Its feathers were white fading into green. He noticed a bulky-looking man walk over to Maka, who looked like he may have been his father.

"The witch lured Ho-Oh in with a Rainbow Wing and a Clear Bell. She wanted to harness its power to resurrect the dead, so it can revive her if she dies, and possibly anyone else she chooses to revive. She now has Ho-Oh inside of her, rather like that meister, Crona, who I've heard so much about. She was trapped in Bell Tower until she would release Ho-Oh, but she never did. She escaped, and burnt down the entire tower!" he explained.

"Didn't anyone try to stop her?"

No-one has ever fought the witch. She is much too powerful for most Trainers, even our region's Champion. If someone were to kill her, they would have to kill the Legendary Bird at the same time, to prevent her from being brought back to life."

"That's something we'll have to risk," Soul replied; if killing a legendary Pokémon meant protecting Johto from being burned to the ground, he knew that it was a chance he and Maka would have to take.

"Do you know where she may have headed to from here, sir?"

"She made her way towards the Burned Tower. You'd better head there fast. Good luck. You're going to need it," the man cheered. The frightened civilians jumped up and down with glee.

"Come on, Soul. Let's get this witch."

Soul licked his lips, hungry for the taste of a witch's soul. He and his meister mounted their Pidgeot, and took to the skies once again.


	4. Chapter 4 ,VS The Legendary Witch!

The cool breeze brushed against Soul and Maka as they flew through the sky.

"Can't we just find some nearby Water-type Pokémon to attack her with, Maka?" Soul asked. "I just wanna get this out of the way with and go home."

"Do you _know_ how difficult it would be to control a weapon AND Pokémon simultaneously?" Maka snapped. "We're not going to half-ass this assignment by using the wild Pokémon. Be a little more optimistic! Nothing can stop Soul and Maka,right?"

"You know what? You're starting to sound just like Black*Star," Soul chuckled, only to receive a painful Maka Chop.

* * *

The Pidgeot landed, and lowered their bodies. Soul and Maka dismounted them, and headed towards the charred remains of the Burned Tower. Only one floor had survived the mysterious fire that had happened so many years ago.

"Only _one_ floor?" muttered Maka, in disbelief.

The growls of flickering flames could be heard behind them. A sultry female voice spoke to them.

"What do you two want with this place?"

She wore a red masquerade mask with a golden beak shape on it, and her dress imitated the Legendary Bird Ho-Oh's velvet plumage. Maka could strongly sense her wicked soul.

"You're a witch, aren't you?"

The woman cackled. "Aren't you a smart girl? It's lovely to meet you, too. I'm the Legendary Witch Ho-oh-na!"

Her irises shined in rainbow colours as she spoke.

"So, why do you want Johto to burn to the ground?" Soul asked, with a deadpan expression.

"It's thanks to the imbeciles of this place that I was concealed in that darn tower for so many years! They didn't want me to resurrect anyone that they thought didn't need resurrecting. Who are _they_ to judge who I bring back to life, and who I let die? How did they know that I wasn't going to use it for good?"

"Pfft. You really think I'd believe that a WITCH would use such a great power for something GOOD?" Maka spat.

"I should've known. You two are members of the dreaded DWMA, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and we're here to put a stop to you!" Maka yelled, at the top of her voice. "Soul…"

"I'm on it."

Soul morphed into his scythe form, and Maka honed the blade against the rocky cliffs.

"If a fight is what you want, then a fight is what you get," grumbled the witch.

Her soul expanded around her, forming a vast sphere of many colours. She formed a ball of colourful energy in her hands, and fired it at Maka. She swiftly ducked it, and it crashed into the cliff face. Pieces of rock flew in all directions. Maka hurtled towards the witch, and leapt into the air. She shattered her protective barrier, which fell as rainbow-coloured sparkles to the floor. However, her attack seemed to do very little damage to Ho-oh-na.

"Fire Spin!"

Maka became surrounded in a towering tornado of flames. The harsh heat made the sweat flow down her face like the Tohjo Falls. The flaming walls began to close in on her.

She cut the flaming walls with her scythe, but they continued to move inwards. The blade was glowing red with the heat.

"Soul, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Soul's image flashed on the blade. "Yeah. Let's go! SOUL RESONANCE!"

Maka and Soul both concentrated as hard as possible on each other. They could feel each other's wavelengths gradually coming together. As both weapon and meister's souls amalgamated, they could feel unfathomable strength coming to them. Maka's scythe became a huge, crescent-shaped blade that twinkled.

"WITCH HUNTER!"

Maka slashed at the ground with her blade, sending a wave of energy heading towards the wall of the tornado. She managed to part the wall, and jumped through the gap before the flames could catch her. She charged at the witch and, mustering every ounce of strength she could find, brought her blade down on the witch's head. Ho-oh-na quickly produced another protective barrier, and she endeavoured to keep it from breaking under the Witch Hunter's incredible power. The glittering blade broke into tiny pieces. The witch took down her barrier, and let loose a forceful blast of rainbow light that hit Maka in the stomach. She skidded across the floor and grazed her arms, legs and face.

"You might want to quit while you're ahead, dear," laughed Ho-oh-na.

She peered down on the injured girl with sadistic pleasure. Maka attempted to get to her feet.

"We can't let her win, Maka! Get up!" Soul called out, lying on the ground just ahead of her.

The witch's eyes lit up, and the wing-like material draping off of her arms glowed brightly.

"GET UP, MAKA!" Soul shouted.

Maka lay on the floor, covered head-to-toe in her own blood. "I can't, Soul…"

"If you don't move, she'll KILL YOU!" Soul replied, his voice growing more desperate.

The witch's beak shape on her mask shone brightly. She rose into the air.

"BRAVE BIRD!"

The witch dived down towards Maka, but she was still too lethargic to move out of the way. The beak on the witch's mask extended.

"NO!"

Maka looked up into the sky, alerted by Soul's shocked voice, but it was too late.


	5. Chapter 5 ,Soul,Don't Go!

Soul had pounced in front of Maka, and took the brunt of the legendary witch's brutal attack. Time seemed to slow down for Maka. She stared in horror as Ho-oh-na's beak impaled Soul's chest, sending blood flying out in all directions. A searing pain struck Soul as if it were lightning, and he let out a rasping cry in agony.

"SOUL!"

Maka felt her heart go into her mouth, as Soul fell weakly into the grass. Seeing her friend in such a condition gave her the determination to get to her feet. She promptly rushed to help him.

"Hang in there, Soul!" Maka cried, as she took off her jacket and pressed it down on the wound.

"How do you feel, little girl? You were too lazy to dodge my attack, and your laziness got your best friend killed. You risked his life instead of your own-"

"SHUT UP!" Maka retorted, as tears began to slither down her face. "Just shut up..."

Soul's voice became a husky whisper. "Maka…don't worry about me, okay?"

"But we're partners, Soul! We can't be separated!"

Soul used the little strength he had left to lift his hand on to Maka's shoulder. "Do you _really_ think that something as little as death could change that? Nothing will get in the way of our partnership, Maka…you know that, right?"

As much as she admired his confidence, Maka wasn't willing to let him go.

"But what if-"

"Just stay strong, Maka…you'll be fine…"

The hand that lay on Maka's shoulder drifted to the floor like a feather, and her Weapon drew his final breath. Maka kneeled on the floor, her tears soaking into the soil.

"Quit crying and fight back!" snapped the witch, who held two spheres of azure fire in her palms.

Shrill squawks echoed, and the pair of Pidgeot that Soul and Maka had ridden jabbed at the witch with their beaks. She threw a ball of fire at one of them, sending it straight to the ground. All that remained when the dust cleared was the singed carcass of the bird. The other Pidgeot avoided her attack, and whipped up powerful gusts of wind that it flung towards her. She struggled to fight off the gale.

"What on Earth are YOU doing here?"

She fired a beam of rainbow-coloured light at the bird, but it flew in the opposite direction to avoid it. The bird aimed for the floor and, with talons outstretched, scooted dust into the witch's eyes.

"You're heading in the right direction for a frying, you birdy bastard!" She bellowed, rubbing the dust out of her eyes.

She flung numerous mini tornadoes at the Pidgeot, only to be struck by a powerful Aerial Ace attack. The witch lost her ability to hover temporarily. The Pidgeot planned a Sky Attack, but the witch vanished in colourful flames. The Pidgeot turned to look at Maka, with curious eyes.

"Come on, Pidgeot…" Maka murmured, glancing at her deceased partner. "Let's get him back to the DWMA."


	6. Chapter 6 ,Maka's Bereavement

Maka used the mirror in her bedroom to contact Lord Death.

"Hey, Maka! How's-"

Lord Death's smile faded when he saw his dear student bawling into the blanket on her bed.

"I see you're still upset. You two were a great duo, you know," Lord Death said. "He will be missed. If you ever need to talk, I'm just a mirror away, Maka."

Snappy trotted over to her, and offered her a small piece of a Sour Poffin. It pushed it gently towards her with its foot.

"Thanks so much, Lord Death," snivelled Maka, although she didn't appreciate that he sounded so cheerful at this moment in time. She pushed the Poffin back to Snappy, and he ate it in one snap of his mouth.

"You're welcome! Do you need anything right now?" Lord Death asked, with a hospitable voice.

Maka smiled sweetly at the mirror. "Not right now, thanks."

"Ok, then. Good night, Maka!"

Lord Death's face faded. Snappy peered into Maka's eyes, and uttered a small cry.

"It's Ok, Snappy…"

Maka gave the little Pokémon a gentle embrace.

* * *

Tsubaki threw the ball in the net, and jumped for joy.

"You're such a cheater," moaned Kid. His Duskull gave her cold stares.

"Calm down, Kid, it's only a game," Tsubaki replied, as her Lopunny hopped around cheering. However, Tsubaki's happiness soon died down when she looked towards her friend, who sat quietly on the bench reading a book. "Would you like to join in, Maka?"

Maka peeked over her for a second, but her lips remained closed.

Lola bounced over to her, and gave her a hug.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Maka. I really am," said Tsubaki, in a soft voice.

Maka's cheeks ached as she tried to hold back the tears. "It's OK. Tsubaki... thank you."

"YAHOO! I've got something awesome to show you all!"

Black*Star hurried over to the court ,and revealed a severed witch's head, making the others shriek in fear.

"Why does she have that horriblly-long fringe on one side of her head?" Kid screamed, inching away from the head. "Take that disgusting thing away from me this instant!"

Black*Star tossed the head to the floor, and jumped on the bench.

"Hey, Maka! Whatcha doing?"

"Umm, Black*Star…I don't think now is the time," Tsubaki whispered.

"Why not? I'm-wait, where's Soul?"

Tsubaki gave him a sullen look. "He and Maka had an assignment at Johto, and a Legendary Witch took his life. I'm sorry."

Black*Star clenched a vengeful fist. "What? NOBODY kills my friend and gets away with-"

Maka bawled her eyes out. "Black*Star, please…I don't want you being killed too."

"No-one can kill me. I'M BLACK*STAR!" He yelled, pumping his fist.

Black*Star patted the grieving girl on the head, and dashed onto the court to join in the game of basketball.


	7. Chapter 7 ,Kid's Advice

Kid sat back in his chair, juggling the Poké Balls that contained his Duskull.

"Kid, are you listening?" asked Mr. Stein, patting his Haxorus on the back.

"Of course I am listening," Kid replied, completely at ease.

"Today, class, we'll be practicing Soul Resonance, but with a Pokémon for a partner. Do any of you have a Pokémon as your weapon partner?"

"I do!"

The call was that of Ox's, whose Kadabra levitated into the air. As tired as Stein was that the boy never let anyone else have a chance to volunteer, he gestured to him to move to the front of the class.

Stein's Haxorus changed to form a frightening axe, with green spines on the handle.

"Have you ever used this Kadabra in battle before?"

"Not yet, Dr. Stein. I've only just adopted him from the Kanto region."

His Kadabra bent its spoon into odd shapes with its psychic powers.

"Ok. Let's see if you've earned its trust. Tell it to transform."

Kadabra nodded, and became a giant spoon with a red star on its handle.

"Try and resonate with it, Ox. Focus on its emotions, its-"

"I know, I know. SOUL RESONANCE!"

The class gazed in awe, as their best student resonated with his partner. His weapon changed into a razor-sharp knife, glowing in a magenta colour.

"PSYCHO CUT-"

"That's enough, Ox. Sit back down. Thank you for your demonstration, you did very well," Stein said, receiving a bow from Ox's Kadabra.

"That kid thinks he knows everything. He thinks he's so damn special," spat Black*Star.

"_Who else_ do I know who's like that?" Kid asked him.

"I don't THINK I'm special. I KNOW I'm special," Black*Star boasted.

"Talk to me again when you've taken your head out of your ass, Black*Star," Kid retorted, leaving his chair.

"Wait- Where do you think you're going, Kid? You can't just walk out of class!"

"I need to find someone. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Maka looked over the DWMA's balcony. Her mind was still caught up in losing her weapon partner. She wasn't sure how she was ever to cope with the loss of a friend that she cared so much about.

"Maka, are you OK now?"

Kid stepped in, and leaned on the balcony next to her. He marvelled at the symmetry of his dear father's academy.

_Absolutely perfect._

"I still feel terrible, Kid," Maka replied, starting to weep.

"Maka, I hate to have to tell you this, but… you have to let Soul go."

Maka glowered at the boy. "LET HIM GO? He was my best friend! That's something you can't just forget about, Kid."

"I'm not telling you that you need to forget," Kid snapped. "I'm telling you that you need to accept that he's dead, and move on. There is nothing anyone can do about the situation. It's the only way I got over Patty and Liz."

"Oh…"

Kid let out a heavy sigh. "Why don't you try to get a Pokémon partner? It wasn't difficult for Ox to resonate with his Kadabra, even though he had never battled with it. You're almost as talented as him, so I'm sure you can do it," Kid said, with a small smile.

"Isn't it difficult to bond with the soul of a Pokémon?" Maka asked curiously.

"Well, that depends on the Pokémon itself. The hardest soul to bond with is that of a legendary Pokémon. In fact, Mifune is searching the Johto region looking for Suicune as we speak," Kid explained. "I'll help get you started tomorrow, if you like."


	8. Chapter 8 ,Return Of The Witch Hunter

Death the Kid handed Maka a small vulpine creature with six tails. It felt warm and soft in her arms, relieving a little of her sadness. She placed it on the floor when it began to whine.

"This is a Vulpix. It's all yours and it's quite young, so it should be easier for you to bond with it."

Maka grinned at the little fox, who gazed into her eyes. She carefully lowered her hand, and stroked its back. It shuddered at first, but then lay on the floor when she felt comfortable around the girl.

"Aww, isn't it cute?" Maka squealed.

The Vulpix jumped up at her, uttering its name in a high- pitched voice. "Vulpix! Vulpix!"

"Try and ask it to transform, Maka."

"Already? Well, okay…"

Maka called the Vulpix to her, and it faded into orange light. It reappeared in her hand as a set of six whips with their ends curled, all held by one soft handle.

"Brilliant! Three on one side, three on the other. It's beautiful."

Maka looked into her new weapon, and felt a sudden burst of remorse. She was replacing Soul with a Pokémon for her weapon, and she felt horrible for it.

"Do you think we should try a Soul Resonance, Vulpix?"

The weapon replied happily. "Vulpix!"

"OK. Get ready…"

Maka tried her hardest to resonate with her brand new partner. She felt the beginning of their souls bonding. Vulpix's soul felt extremely hot, too hot for Maka to bear. The handle of the whip scorched her hand, and Maka immediately dropped it. It returned to Pokémon form, and gave her a confounded look.

"I can't do it, Kid!" Maka bawled.

Her mind was too focused on her former partner.

_I can't replace you, Soul. It's too hard. We were such good partners, and I don't want anything to change that, not even death!_

Maka felt a burst of confidence when she could sense her old friend's soul, but she also felt extremely confused.

_Maka, snap out of it. He's dead. You're probably hoping every soul you sense happens to be Soul's. Don't waste your time, _she told herself_._

A sudden globe of cyan light encircled the unsuspecting meister, and a large, scintillating scythe formed between her palms.

"What are you doing?" Kid asked, awestruck by the event.

Maka glanced into the air, and she could hardly believe what lay before her. However, her eyes were not deceiving her; she had, in fact, managed to perform the Witch Hunter attack. The only difference in its appearance was its translucence. Vulpix hid its head under its bushy tails.

"Maka!"

The scythe broke into small pieces. She leaned her hands on her knees, desperately trying to catch her breath back.

"D-Did you just perform the Witch Hunter with no weapon?" Kid asked her, his head tilted to one side, clearly perplexed.

"Yeah, and if I just performed the Witch Hunter, then that must mean…"


	9. Chapter 9 ,Maka's Plan

"Hello there, Maka! How are you doing?"

"Better, Lord Death," uttered Maka, as she spoke to him through her bedroom mirror again. "But I'm not here to talk about my feelings this time."

Vulpix and Minty sat on the windowsill, watching the moon as it muttered peculiar sounds into the night.

"Oh, then what is it you wish to tell me?"

"I-I think I may have resonated with Soul. I tried resonating with Vulpix, but I dropped her. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened, and then I looked up and the Witch Hunter version of my old scythe was in my hands," Maka explained.

"Wow! It seems your bond with your old partner has surpassed even death itself!" said Lord Death, in a jolly voice. "Make sure you try not to do that again, Maka. Resonating with the dead is not a good idea! I can't imagine what kinds of consequences that would bring. Besides, his soul will probably be very far away from you very soon. You won't be able to resonate with him forever, sadly."

Maka had built her hopes up for nothing. "Has it happened before?"

"It had happened occasionally, but you should concentrate on training with Vulpix, and try to get over your sadness about Soul."

"You want me to just forget about Soul? That's exactly what Kid told me to do, and there's no way I'll forget about my partner!" Maka yelled, receiving disgruntled replies from the people in the rooms near hers.

"Maka, you don't need to forget about him. You just need to overcome your grief. Nothing can be done to get him back, I'm afraid," Lord Death replied.

"URGH! I give up!"

Maka went away from the mirror, and lay face-down on her bed. Minty and Vulpix curled up to sleep at the end of her feet. She couldn't handle the fact that Soul would never come back, and if she couldn't handle it now, she didn't know how she would be able to cope in the future.

"Wait-"

She had remembered something that may have had the possibility to heal her emotional pain. She browsed through her drawer full of practice exam papers and spare pens, and found the Legendary Pokémon book. She flicked to the page about Ho-Oh.

_It is said that Ho-Oh can resurrect the dead._

Maka remembered the little boy's father telling her that the witch had combined Ho-Oh's soul with her own to use its resurrection abilities. There was still hope, but Maka pondered about whether her plan was a risk worth taking.


	10. Chapter 10 ,An Intense Pursuit

Maka tiptoed out into the DWMA grounds, doing her best to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Vulpix followed close behind. She crept over to the area where Lord Death kept his Pidgeot. Maka's eyes bulged at the size of the flock; many of them were deep in slumber, and others were preening their feathers.

_Which one was the one I used to get to Johto?_

Maka browsed through the flock of the Pidgeot, but they all looked exactly the same to her after a while. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed that one of the Pidgeot had most of the yellow feather on its head missing.

"Hey! Remember me?"

Pidgeot lifted its wing, and tilted its head. Maka snapped its beak shut when it chirped at her.

"Shhh, be quiet! I need you do help me out again. I'll give you one of these to show my thanks," Maka said, holding a Sweet Poffin in her hands. She kept them as flat as possible so that Pidgeot wouldn't also eat her fingers.

Pidgeot sniffed at the pink Poffin, nudging it with its beak. Its soft, spongy consistency was something not even the tamest of Pokémon could resist. Pidgeot knocked the Poffin out of Maka's hands, and pecked at it with delight. The other Pidgeot began to bicker over the Poffin, and all began jabbing at it. Vulpix decided to gobble the entire thing in one bite, much to the anger of the birds.

"SHHHHH!" Maka whispered, with her finger to her lips.

The other Pidgeot calmed down, and returned to cleaning their glossy feathers.

"Come on, Pidgeot…I really need something that can fly as fast as you can!"

Maka's flattery made the Pidgeot spread its wings in an incredibly vain bent down until Maka was able to get onto its back. Vulpix returned to its weapon form. Maka thanked the bird with an extra Sweet Poffin, and Pidgeot gained altitude before heading for the Johto region.

* * *

Maka looked around the tremendous views. A trail of flames circled the grass outside of Mt. Silver, which appeared to be a heard of galloping Rapidash as Maka got a closer look. Magikarp splashed around in the Lake Of Rage, and the scales of the elusive Red Gyarados could be seen poking out of the water. A trail of rainbow light shot across the horizon.

"Pidgeot! I think that was her!"

Pidgeot swiftly turned and began its pursuit. Every bend and every move of the trail failed to deter the Pokémon, as it beat its wings tenfold to keep up with it. Pidgeot swooped towards the ground to avoid a blast of fire, but it burst into a star- like shape and burned the tip of its wing. Pidgeot could feel itself beginning to fall and it flapped its wings even faster, desperate to remain airborne.

"Get away from me, little girl, or I'll take down your Pidgeot like I did with the other one!"

Maka noticed that the Legendary Bird Ho-Oh's wings had sprouted out of her back.

"Ancientpower!"

Giant glowing rocks arose from the ground, and Ho-oh-na shoved them towards Pidgeot. Pidgeot swerved to avoid them, but one of the rocks smashed on the cliff side. Part of its shrapnel hit Maka square in the face, and she dropped onto Pidgeot's back.

"Vulpix!" screeched Maka's weapon.

Vulpix transformed, stood on her meister's chest, and kept licking her cheek. Despite Vulpix's efforts, Maka was still out cold. All of a sudden, swords shot into the air and impaled the Witch's arms and legs.

"Keep attacking, Suicune!"

Suicune shot another blast of water, and it hit Ho-oh-na so powerfully that she hurtled towards the ground. A huge cloud of muddy dust dispersed into the air, and Suicune jumped to the side to slow itself down. It skidded across the ground for a second before coming to a halt.

"Yay! The Witch lady is dead!" cheered Angela.

However, Mifune knew that there were many more witches that would need to be taken down, some worse than even Medusa and Arachne. His work was far from over. He saw Pidgeot land on the ground next to him.

"What's going on…"

Maka could only hear a faint buzzing, and she could only see a blue blur.

"Wait-Mifune? You bonded with _Suicune_?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and focusing again.

"It was a challenge, but it was well worth it," he replied.

"Hey! Were you after the Witch, too?" asked Angela, in a childlike voice.

"Yeah. She killed my friend, so I'm gonna trick her into bringing him back to life for me- if she's still alive."

Mifune bowed to Maka. "Good luck. Suicune and I are off to the Kanto region. Apparently a large gang known as Team Rocket are causing trouble. Farewell. I hope you can get your friend back."

Maka waved goodbye, receiving a small wave back from Angela. Suicune bounded into the distance. Maka took a breath, and made her way gingerly into the forest.

_I hope she isn't dead just yet…_


	11. Chapter 11, It's A Deal!

The forest was thick with vegetation, and tiny bug Pokémon skittered around on the floor. Maka would occasionally hear the vile squelch of unfortunate Caterpie under her feet, and Pidgeot would peck at every Weedle it saw. Maka kept having to remind it that Weedle were poisonous.

"Vulpix, transform!" Maka whispered; her weapon did as instructed.

After a winding trek through fallen leaves and berries, and after spending half of it peeling the squashed Caterpie from the bottom of her shoe, Maka had arrived at a small clearing. A wooden shrine lay in the middle, but right in front of that shrine laid the legendary witch. She began to illuminate.

"Urggh...Recover!…"

She gradually felt her vitality return to her, and she heaved herself up onto her knees.

"What is it, stupid girl?" spat Ho-oh-na. "You've already chased me here with that bratty bird of yours and tried to kill me, so what do you want with me now? Do you want to kill me right here, right now, or are you too frightened?"

"I…I blamed my partner's death on you, and I want to apologise…it was my fault," Maka sobbed, cleverly feigning guilt.

Ho-oh-na had finally gained enough energy to stand. She glared down at the girl, who gently wiped her eyes. Vulpix sounded very confounded by Maka's actions.

"I'll do anything for you if you bring him back to life! You can use Ho-Oh to resurrect him, right?"

Ho-oh-na beamed when she heard a phrase that any smart Witch would use to their utmost advantage.

_She'll do 'anything'?_

"I can. In fact, there is something you can do for me…"

Maka's eyes glittered, the same way a Meowth's would glitter when it spotted a shiny object.

"I want you to go to Violet City, and take this with you. It's a Poké Ball I stole from a boy who lived there. I feel bad, and I want you to return it to him for me. Just place it in the middle of the city. He'll find it," explained Ho-oh-na. "So, what do the DWMA have to do with Johto? You've certainly come a long way from Death City. Why?"

"A lot of the students have been dying lately, mainly the weapons," Maka said. "Lord Death wanted to make Pokémon available as stronger weapons for those whose human weapons have died. Ever since, Lord Death has sworn that its students will help protect the land of the Pokémon, and the regions' Champions will help protect the DWMA if needed."

"Wonderful. Well, off you go with the Poké Ball! Go up until you hit National Park, and then turn right until you get to Violet City. You can't miss it. If you don't notice the Sprout Tower, you've gone too far."

Maka mounted her trusty Pidgeot, and Vulpix took on its Pokémon form and jumped on the bird's back.

"I will be watching you to make sure that you do it! I don't want you lying to me, and no chewing the fat along the way! Got that?" the witch demanded, as she conjured up a fiery ball.

"Got it! I won't let you down!"

_Heheh. That dumb old witch fell for my fake guilt! I thought she'd make me kill someone in return or something. Phew_, Maka thought, as Pidgeot raced through the air.

_I'll see you very soon, Soul!_


	12. Chapter 12 ,Maka's Errand

Maka looked down over Goldenrod City, and every inch of the city was enticing to her. She was tempted to window-shop in the huge department store. She was even more tempted to play until her heart was content in the Game Corner. The Radio Tower seemed to be calling her.

_Focus, Maka! You can have fun at Goldenrod later,_ she told herself.

She spotted a tall structure and vague shadows of houses. The rough outline of a sign slowly came into focus.

`**Violet City- The City of Nostalgic Scents!**'

They had arrived at their destination. Pidgeot fluttered down to ground level, and Maka and Vulpix got off of it. She wandered through the city until she came across, what looked like, the Violet City Gym.

_Looks close enough to the middle of town to me._

"Hey! There's my Poké Ball! You found it!" cried a high voice.

Maka winked at the small boy, and placed the Poké Ball in his palms.

"Have fun with your Pokémon, little boy!" Maka called out, as Pidgeot rose into the sky; she would have loved to stay and talk, but the witch's words echoed in her mind.

_Don't stop and chew the fat along the way!_

Maka heard loud claps that reverberated off of the trees.

"Well done, Maka!" Ho-oh-na cheered, chuckling to herself. "Now, come down here and I can bring your friend back to life."

Maka hurried her Pidgeot along, and jumped off of its back.

"Stand there, and perform a Soul Resonance with him. If his soul is no longer bonded to yours, I'm afraid it may not be possible."

Maka ordered Vulpix to transform into a weapon, and gripped the handle in her palm. She shook with excitement.

"Let's go! SOUL RESONANCE!"

Maka remembered everything she could about her times with Soul; she could remember first meeting him. The piano melody that he played her replayed in her mind, loud and dissonant. Her weapon's handle began to heat up. She remembered when Soul had protected her from Dr. Stein in a practice battle. She sniggered when the memory of his reaction to Blair naked in the bathtub appeared in her thoughts. Eventually, Vulpix's handle grew too hot for her to hold, and she tossed it to the ground. Maka felt a tear roll down her cheek when she saw the faint Witch Hunter scythe in her hands.

"Now, stay focused on his soul wavelength, OK?"

Ho-oh-na cried in pain, as a giant avian creature tore out of her back. It squawked toward the sky, and spread its wings.

_Ho-Oh!_

Ho-Oh began to shine in every colour of the rainbow. Maka's Scythe became more and more opaque to the point where it melted into a blob of light that contained the boy's soul. It gradually took the shape of Maka's former weapon.

"SOUL!" Maka screamed.

She darted over to the boy, and gave him a crushing hug.

"What the Hell is going on, Maka?"

Maka blinked a few times, thinking that everything in her vision was naught but a result of a bizarre dream.

"Thank you, Ho-oh-na!"

_I can't believe she fell for it! This is too funny!_

Ho-oh-na turned her back.

"You're welcome," she hissed, disappearing into a ball of blue flames; everything was going perfectly for her now.


	13. Chapter 13, Suspicions

Pidgeot could barely fly with the added weight of Soul on its back.

"Why did you do that, Maka? How could you trust a witch?"

"It's Ok, Soul! I tricked her into having sympathy for me, so all I had to do was return a Poké Ball to a child. Pretty smart of me, huh?"

"No! The dead should _stay_ dead, Maka. I understand that you didn't want me to die but,sometimes, we just gotta let go,okay?" Soul explained.

Maka felt a cold breeze flow through her chest. "Don't you appreciate what I did for you?"

"I know how much you must have had to go through to bring me back, and I appreciate it, but-"

The mighty roar of an explosion echoed.

"Hey Soul, do you smell fire?"

Soul turned Maka's head to face the Johto region. All that was left of the region was a mass of land that had been thoroughly razed by fire. Rainbow-colored smoke swirled into the air. Maka never said a word, and watched the morning sun begin to rise.

Soul, Maka and Vulpix got off of Pidgeot, now that they had returned to the DWMA. Pidgeot joined its flock, and drifted off into a deep sleep.

"How many people found out about my death, Maka? People are gonna be pretty confused when they see me walking around the DWMA when they've been told that I was dead."

Maka kept her lips sealed; she had no idea about how many people knew of Soul's previous demise. For all she knew, every student and teacher could have heard about it. Maka dashed behind the Pidgeot flock when she heard footsteps. Soul and Vulpix followed.

"I think someone's coming."

Maka peered over one of the Pidgeot, being careful not to wake it. A silhouette of a tall, slim boy surveyed the school grounds. When he moved into the sunlight, Maka realised that it was none other than Death the Kid, his twin Duskull partners and his father's Luxray. It prowled around the area, browsing every nook and cranny for any trouble. The flock of Pidgeot began to awaken, and tweeted at the rising sun. Luxray turned to face them, and charged at them.

"Luxray! Where are you going? That's the Pidgeot flock! They aren't any trou-"

Kid heard familiar yelling behind the flock. Maka and Soul backed away from the Luxray as it snarled at them, its fur standing on end. Kid hurried over to the duo.

"Maka? SOUL?"

Kid gasped at the rainbow smoke cloud that rose from the coloured flames. The strong scent of smoke irritated his nostrils. He approached soul, and poked his chest.

_I'm not hallucinating at all!_

"What's going on, Maka?" Kid asked sternly. "It's unlike you to be out this early."

Words failed to leave her lips; she had completely forgotten about Luxray's X-ray eyes.

"Well?"

"I didn't sleep last night. I got up early because I wasn't tired, Kid-"

"And what's HE doing here? Isn't he supposed to be dead? What on Earth are you two up to this time?"

"Kid, stop!" Soul shouted. "I'm confused too, but I did die. Maka never lied about that. She got me resurrected by some weird witch."

Maka gave her former weapon a cold stare; she remembered back in the day when he would never do anything to land his meister in trouble. Kid paced the area.

"The pieces of this puzzle are beginning to fit together. My father told me that the Johto region was being threatened to be burnt down by a Legendary Witch. Just ahead of me lies a huge rainbow fire, and as far as I know, something like that would never happen naturally."

Kid and his Duskulls' chilling stares made Maka and Soul's stomachs go cold.

"You and Soul were assigned to rid Johto of this menace only a few days ago. Soul was tragically killed protecting you, if I remember correctly."

Maka's Vulpix barked and breathed tiny flames toward Kid, but one of his Duskull paralysed it with fear using its Mean Look.

"Tell me, Maka… what did you have to do to get Soul back? It seems the only form of resurrection known to us currently is through the Legendary Bird, Ho-Oh's, power-the same bird that lies inside the body of the Legendary Witch Ho-oh-na!"

"I didn't think she would do this! All she told me to do was return a kid's Poké Ball to him for it!"

Maka fell to her knees and started to cry. She was startled by a ring of fire that appeared in front of her.

"I never did a thing! That Poké Ball you delivered to the boy? It was full of explosive, magical energy. This is your fault, little girl, not mine! If you weren't so disgustingly selfish, Johto would still be standing! Thank you for the help. Now I can work on annihilating my next target, and it's all thanks to you," the flames hissed, in the witch's voice.

Kid spread out his arms, and the Duskull changed into weapons.

"Sorry, Maka Albarn…but I won't let you get away with endangering my father's academy like this!" Kid yelled, his voice growing more angry as he spoke.

Maka stomped her foot on the ground. "Fine! If you feel like it's right to fight your good friend, then so be it! Soul-"

"Maka, leave me out of this…" he replied solemnly , "this is all down to you now."

When it saw Soul walking away, Vulpix decided to serve its meister, and became its weapon form.

"Come on, Vulpix. Let's show Death the Kid what we're made of!"


	14. Chapter 14 ,A Heated Battle

"Shadow Punch!"

Kid's fist became cloaked in shadowy mist. Maka deftly dodged his attack and whacked his wrist with the Vulpix whip. Each of the whip's tails coiled around his arm, like an Arbok suffocating its prey. Maka jerked the handle, and the whip pulled him to the floor. Kid struggled to escape the tenacious tails of the whip. His hand was beginning to change colour through the circulation being cut off.

"Spike Spear!"

The spikes on the brass knuckles on his other hand extruded and stabbed Maka straight through her right arm. She gripped it firmly to try and suppress the bleeding, but the blood leaked through the gaps between her fingers.

"Fire Blast!"

Vulpix reached a scorching temperature. Kid grimaced in pain, and the smell of the singed flesh made him inclined to vomit. Maka let go of the handle and performed a backflip to avoid Vulpix's attack. Vulpix screeched, and blasted out an array of flames in the shape of a star.

"Vulpix! Come back here!"

Vulpix returned to its original form and bounded over to her meister, jumping into her hands and then morphing into whip form once again.

"Are you tired yet, Kid?"

The reaper pushed himself back up, patting the remaining embers off of his sleeve and flicking his fringe out of his eyes.

"Do you think I would tire so easily, Maka? Duskull, SOUL RESONANCE!"

As Kid's soul blended with those of his weapon partners, Maka disrupted their resonance by attacking him with the whip again. The tails curled around his stomach, and Maka flung him across the grounds of the DWMA. He bounced along the asphalt, leaving a splash of blood with each landing.

"Pathetic! I would have expected _you_ of all people to know better than to trust a witch and fight like a Magikarp!" Kid spat.

Kid summoned Beelzebub, and soared into the air. He jumped off of the board whilst it was airborne, and pummelled Maka with a flurry of powerful blows on his way down. Maka smacked the ground, and stared groggily at the bleeding reaper.

"Sorry, Maka Albarn, but I will never let anyone harm my father's academy, including you!"

Kid pointed the spikes of his brass knuckles towards Maka's chest, preparing to use his Spike Spear to pierce through her heart.

"I will be the one to take down Ho-oh-na. I have more common sense than to fall for a witch's ploys. Goodbye, Maka. May your soul rest in-"

A blade of light sliced across this throat, and blood spurted out from the wound. His startled expression froze . Maka rolled out of the way, and he fell. His Duskull returned to their ghostly form and tapped him repeatedly, but he remained inanimate.

"There we go, Maka. Thanks to my Aerial Ace, he can't bother you anymore."

Ho-oh-na hovered in the air. Ho-oh's head poked out of her back, and it knocked out the two Duskull with a Shadow Ball attack. Maka's eyes were adhered to Death the Kid's body. She could understand why Kid treated her with such hostility; if he were to harm Spirit in any way, she would probably have done the same thing. But Maka knew that, if she let her guard down through her understanding, Kid _still_ would have killed her.

"What am I supposed to tell Lord Death?" Maka panicked.

"Use your imagination, little girl. I have other things I need to do here."

"Like what?"

Ho-oh Fire-Blasted the entire Pidgeot flock, sending the burnt bodies of the birds flying in all directions.

"Like that."


	15. Chapter 15 ,The Witch's Offer

Maka bared her teeth at the witch. "Why did you do that, Ho-oh-na? What do you want with the DWMA?"

Ho-oh-na floated down to ground level, and lifted Maka's head so she was directly facing her. Vulpix snarled at her, with all of its tails stood on end.

"I know that Lord Death will send out even more of his meisters and weapons to try and kill me. I have better things to do with my time than having to put up with little children thinking they're able to kill a legendary witch," Ho-oh-na chuckled. "If I destroy the DWMA, I won't have that to worry about."

The Witch stroked Maka's head.

"As for you, dear, I suppose it's only thanks to you that Johto went up in flames, what with the bomb you planted in Violet City. That said…I will spare your life. You can join me, and you will live. After all...you did help me."

Ho-oh's wings spread out, and its head slithered over Ho-oh-na's shoulder in a serpentine fashion. The Witch's expression seemed to convey a message to the girl.

_You WILL join me in destroying the DWMA. You have no choice._

Maka could visualise the situation, if she were to join the witch. The entire building would be reduced to naught but splintered wood and rubble. The bodies of her fallen classmates would litter the grounds, the way the dead bodies of flies cover a dry windowsill. Maka would have escaped with her own life, but at the cost of the lives of every other student and teacher at the DWMA.

_It's not worth it._

Dr. Stein hurried outside. "Get away from the girl, witch!"

Ho-oh-na's head swivelled. She grinned at the man, who glanced over at the young reaper's dead body.

"But don't you understand, sir? She's with _me_ now."

Dr. Stein growled at her. "You don't fool me, witch. Maka is one of our best students. She would never do such a thing."

His words had only made Maka feel even worse for how much she had let the academy, and its members, down.

"But you see, that isn't how it is at all. She helped me destroy Johto. Didn't you, little girl?"

Stein's eyes probed into Maka's, and he gave her a sceptical look.

"It's true! She told me she would resurrect Soul as long as I returned a Poké Ball to its rightful owner, and it turned out to be a bomb! I trusted a witch, Dr. Stein, and I'm so sorry!"

Maka broke into tears, banging the floor with her fist. Vulpix snuggled into her.

"You should be ashamed of her, Stein," spat Ho-oh-na. "She's selfish. She's weak."

Dr. Stein helped Maka get back to her feet.

"I can't believe you would do such a thing, Maka. I thought you were smarter than to trust a witch," Stein said.

Maka felt as if she were being kicked whilst she was down. All of a sudden, an important thought crossed her mind,something that she felt she should have bore in mind earlier. she dried her tears and stood her ground. She called Vulpix's name, and it became its whip form.

"You've let everyone down. All you can do now, little girl, is sit down and cry," Ho-oh-na laughed.

Maka snivelled a little. "No! That's not what I'll do."

"Oh, really? Then, what other choices do you have?"

Maka chortled to herself. "I don't need anyone's forgiveness. I can see the error of my ways,but I'm not going to mope about them. I've made my mistakes, and all I can do now is put them right,and I'm gonna start by dealing with you!"

Maka cracked her whip, and each of its six tails created fiery sonic-booms. She felt fear flow through her veins, but she had no choice but to kill the Witch that had fooled her. Maka had to prevent the vision of the future demolition of the DWMA from becoming reality.


	16. Chapter 16 ,The Academy VS The Witch!

Ho-oh let out a shrill battle cry, and spewed golden flames. Maka was awestruck by the astounding strength that the legendary Pokémon possessed, but she didn't let it peturb her.

"Flame Burst!"

Ho-oh-na pointed one hand at the school building, and another at Maka. Lava spurted from her hands. It blasted through the window of the building and students' screams echoed from inside the room. Maka jumped to avoid the attack, and it cooled into solid rock. Maka picked up the rocks and bombarded the witch with them, hitting her in the eye. She winced at the pain, and tried to remove the pieces of rock from her eye. Maka used her distraction to her advantage, and wrapped her whip's tails around Ho-oh-na's ankle. She tried to use the same technique as she used against Kid, but Ho-oh-na was too heavy for Vulpix to drag down. Ho-oh-na kicked out her leg, flinging Maka across the grounds of the DWMA. She had grazed her face once again, but her determination was stronger than the pain.

"Do you really think you can fight Fire with Fire, _literally?_ "Ho-oh-na taunted, her body hidden in a violent maelstrom of coloured fire.

The heat was almost unbearable for Maka, but she noticed that Dr. Stein had sounded an alarm from outside. The din of the bell forced everyone out of the building. Most gathered around Death The Kid, but then turned to see Maka in an intense duel with the legendary witch. She barraged Maka with hot rocks, knocking her down. Maka was in too much pain to move. She lightly touched the burn mark on her arm and flinched.

"You should have been wiser in your weapon choice, little gi-"

A fist punched Ho-oh-na square in the face. Electricity crackled through her body, and she lost control of her limbs. The rainbow fire faded, revealing Maka's friend, Kilik Rung, and his weapons, Pot of Fire and Pot of Thunder. They returned to human form and wept at Ho-oh-na, hiding behind their meister's legs.

"What's going on, Ma-"

"No time to explain!" Maka interrupted, as her eyes remained fixed onto the Witch; Maka couldn't let her guard down.

"Get away from Maka, you evil bitch!"

Black*Star charged, wielding Tsubaki in her Enchanted Sword form. Dark black lines struck across her meister's face, and he slashed relentlessly at the Legendary Witch. Whilst she tried to get back up, Tsubaki's metallic voice yelled for her Lopunny.

"Jump Kick!"

Lola sprung into the air, powerfully kicking Ho-oh-na in the face. Ho-oh-na quickly retaliated with an Aerial Ace attack, slicing the rabbit in two.

"LOLA!" cried Tsubaki, as Ho-oh-na incinerated the Lopunny's body. She peered to the side and, to her surprise, many meisters, both human weapons and Pokémon weapons, stood proudly beside Maka. One face stood out, however.

"I'm glad you've decided to do the right thing now," Soul said, patting his partner on the back. " I didn't wanna have to cope with you moping about mistakes."

"There's only one problem, little girl…Marker…whatever your name is. I can easily resurrect myself with Ho-oh's power. I combined Ho-oh's powers with a small part of my live soul, and combined that with Soul's dead soul. That is why he is alive right now."

"Yeah. So?" Maka retorted.

"So, if you kill me, you will kill him too."

Soul grabbed the bladed arm of a student's Scyther, and placed it to his neck. "Then I'll kill myself, and I'll take you with me!"

"Soul-"

"I can use Ho-oh's power to bring you and I back to life," Ho-oh-na replied. "I'm afraid that there is nothing you can-"

Each and every student attacked the Witch furiously, some managing to avoid her attacks and others being killed by them immediately. Ox whacked her with his dual spoons, the weapon form of his newly-evolved Alakazam. Kilik continued to use the electrical abilities of Pot of Thunder to electrocute her and do massive damage to the soul of the bird inside of her. Eventually, a tall blonde in a long black coat burst in, commanding her Garchomp to bring her down with countless Dragon Rush attacks. Eventually, Ho-oh-na became enclosed in a circle of many colours, and she writhed in pain.

"What on earth is she doing?" Ox cried. "Stop shielding yourself and fight back, you coward! Is the brightest student in the DWMA too much for you to handle?"

"Shut up, Ox! Everyone knows I'm-"

"Black*Star, not right now!" Tsubaki snapped.

A shadow shaped like a large bird began to appear, and a bright yellow flash blinded everyone momentarily. Once their vision cleared, Ho-Oh flew gracefully above the Witch, and a rainbow line of light was left by every flap of its mighty wings.

"My God… it's the legendary bird…"

"Ho-oh, destroy that place. And destroy anyone who dares get in your way."

The bird cawed, and flew towards the DWMA, firing balls of flames at it.

_Do I attack the Witch, or the Legendary Bird?_ Maka thought, when she remembered something important that the little boy's father told her in Johto:

'_If someone were to kill her, they would have to kill the Legendary Bird at the same time, to prevent her from being brought back to life.'_

If Maka were to kill Ho-oh, then she could kill the Witch without having to worry about her revival.

"Let's follow that bird, Soul!" Maka yelled, dragging Soul along with her. Ho-oh-na decided to stay and fend off the students, now having to put up with the incredible power of Lord Death's Reaper Chops as well.


	17. Chapter 17, Ho oh Retaliates!

"You're planning to take down the Legendary Bird? Maka, that's impossible! Vulpix's type won't do much damage to Ho-Oh. You know that," Soul explained.

"What other choice do I-"

Maka came to a halt. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, Maka could wield both weapons in the battle with the bird. It would be nothing short of strenuous, but still possible.

"If you turn into a scythe, maybe I can use both you and Vulpix."

"What?" Soul exclaimed. "How would you do that? That's gonna take a hell of a lot of concentration, Maka."

Maka beamed at her partner. "Then I'll just have put a hell of a lot of concentration into it! Come on, Soul. We're not gonna let Ho-oh-na OR Ho-oh get away with this!"

Maka darted to the DWMA balcony, with both Soul and Vulpix in their weapon forms.

_What if I die in this battle?_

"Maka, what's wrong? You're slowing down a little."

Upon hearing Soul's voice, Maka's pace gradually picked up.

"I'm fine."

Maka reached the balcony of the DWMA, the one she and her friends would always visit if something was troubling them. She peered over the ledge, and all of the cones that decorated the DWMA were broken. Maka could imagine how much Kid would have overreacted if he were still alive to see the major asymmetry of his father's academy. She hoped that Lord Death had not yet noticed his dead son.

"KEEEEEEEEEEKURRROOOO!"

Maka was startled by the huge bird, as it flew up past the balcony and did a U-turn in mid-air. Ho-oh headed towards them with its beak agape. Maka leapt out of the way, and Ho-oh smacked into the wall. It hovered about, shaking its head.

"So you're gonna listen to the orders of the witch who trapped you in her own body? You're gonna listen to the woman who USED you?"

Ho-oh let loose a Flamethrower. Maka whipped the fire to get it to move away from her, but Vulpix seemed to absorb the fire's power and became covered in flames. Maka whacked Ho-oh's legs with it, but her efforts came to absolutely nothing; Ho-oh was barely hurt.

"Fire-type attacks are no good against Fire-types, Maka! Use your common sense!" Soul shouted. "Would Vulpix know anything that has nothing to do with fire?"

Ho-oh scooped Maka up in its beak, and soared high into the sky, so high that Maka could hardly breathe. Ho-oh tossed her back to ground level, and she smashed into the DWMA balcony, breaking through the wall.

"Is that all you've got?" Maka screamed, cracking the Vulpix whip. "Let's resonate, Vulpix!"

Maka and Vulpix's soul combined, and Maka jumped towards the giant bird.

"Quick Attack!"

With the agility that her resonation with Vulpix had given her, Maka swiped at Ho-oh with her scythe. The bird shrieked in pain, and slapped her into the wall with its wing.

"Urrghhh…"

The pain was almost unbearable for her, not to mention the intense concentration it took to wield two weapons at once. But Maka was well aware of what would happen to her friends and the DWMA if she didn't. She had no choice but to fight back. She heaved herself back up. She noticed that she had managed to scrape a few feathers off of Ho-oh.

_We're getting there._

Vulpix's tails extended. The tails wrapped around Ho-oh's neck, choking it. Ho-oh soared up high, with Maka clinging onto Vulpix's weapon handle for dear life. Maka moved back and forth until she had enough power to swing up onto Ho-oh's back, but it turned its head and lunged for her repeatedly. Vulpix's tails let go of it, but quickly tangled around both of the bird's legs. The bird's peck took a chunk of the girl's arm clean off, but even that couldn't deter the meister.

"You…can't…stop me!" Maka bellowed between winces.

Maka hacked at the bird's head, and Ho-oh twirled through the air at high speeds to avoid her attacks. Vulpix loosened the grip of one of its tails, and used it to distract Ho-oh by waving it in its face. It pecked frantically at the tail, giving Maka an advantage. Ignoring the agonizing pain, Maka slowly raised her scythe.

"Goodbye, legendary bird!'

Maka's scythe severed Ho-oh's head. It hung off for a second, and Vulpix grabbed it with its tail and threw it into the horizon. Blood spilled , and Ho-oh began to fall to ground level. Maka jumped off of the bird's back, and landed painfully on what remained of the DWMA's balcony. She dropped down and pressed down tightly on her arm.

"Maka!

Soul became human again, and removed his jacket. He wrapped it around her arm.

"Are you okay?"

Maka breathed heavily and yawned. "I'm in pain, and I'm tired, but…I'm just glad we defeated Ho-oh. Now we can kill-"

"Wait just a second, at least until the bleeding dies down…"

Soul shot a daunting glare at Ho-oh-na. He could just about see a few students lying perfectly still on the floor, including the burnt remains of Ox and his Alakazam. Even Lord Death himself was clearly having some trouble fighting the witch.

"…Then we'll get to killing her."

Soul could remember Ho-oh-na's words perfectly.

_If you kill me, you kill him too._

Soul was still as prepared as he always was to die for his meister.

_Bring it on._


	18. Chapter 18 ,Tiny Flower of Determination

Soul and Vulpix ran alongside their meister, who was clutching the gash on her arm. Maka was beginning to wish that he hadn't used her last bandage on Kid. Her vision started to blur, and she felt as if her strength was trickling out of her body. She gradually came to a stop, and dropped into some nearby bare soil. Soul noticed that it was no clumsy trip; something was wrong. He rushed to her aid.

"Maka! Are you okay?" Soul panicked, brushing the soil from her wound.

Her complexion was pale. Her eyelids were heavy.

"Come on, Maka!"

As desperate as Soul was, his meister didn't seem inclined to move any time soon.

"I don't think I'll make it to Ho-oh-na in time…"

Vulpix pawed at the soil, and barked in delight when it saw something.

"What is it, Vulpix?"

Vulpix brushed the soil away with its paw, and revealed a tiny, lone flower growing in seemingly-infertile soil. Soul assumed that Vulpix was trying to tell him something; the flower looked as if it had endured many a careless trampling, but it continued to stand proudly.

"We've been through worse, Maka. Besides, Vulpix and I promise not to let anything happen to you. Right, Vulpix?"

Vulpix wagged its six tails. Upon seeing the flower, a memory of a late friend returned to Maka. Despite almost getting his arm severed, having his concentration affected by the symmetry that the attack had ruined, and still grieving over the loss of his weapons, Kid persevered. He never let down his guard, and he carried on doing what he could to protect the DWMA.

"Ok…thanks."

Maka gave Soul a tiny smile, and he replied with his signature grin. Soul took Maka's hand, and pulled her up to her feet.

"Come on, you guys," Maka said, facing the direction in which Ho-oh-na's soul seemed to be emanating from. "Let's end her."


	19. Chapter 19 ,The Witch's True Identity

"You're useless without Ho-oh inside you, aren't you?" Black*Star taunted.

"I think you are missing the point. I am the witch, Avianna. Whilst I no longer have Ho-oh's added powers, I still have my own. You didn't think I was just an ordinary girl with a bird stuck in my back, did you?"

Avianna held her palm out flat, and the diamond birds from the rings on her fingers detached and fluttered around her head. Once they grew to a sufficient size, Black*Star could see that they were Pidgey.

"Get him."

The Pidgey flew in Black*Star's direction, and he fought off the birds with the Enchanted Sword, but it seemed that the sword was not enough to cut through the diamond Pidgey.

"REAPER CHOP!"

Lord Death's hand smashed into Avianna's stomach, and she crashed into the wall. As she fell, the wing tattoos on her back materialised and spread wide to keep her airborne.

"At least you tried, sweetie. Feather Dance!"

Avianna performed a beautiful dance and covered Lord Death in a down of feathers. Lord Death fought through the pile of plumage, Avianna ordered her Pidgey to attack him. Without warning, the shinigami batted them away with his Reaper Chop.

"You really don't know how to give up, do you?"

"And neither do we!"

Avianna gasped; she recognised the voice. It was the girl with the pigtails that confronted her in the Johto region.

"You? Again?"

Maka threw her scythe, and it stabbed Avianna in the thigh. She cried out in pain, tore it out and retaliated. "Razor Feather!"

Avianna fired an array of sharp feathers at Maka. She whirled the Vulpix whip so fast that it created a barrier. The feathers scattered. One sliced across Avianna's cheek, and a few more embedded in Maka's legs. She pulled them out, doing what she could to ignore the stinging.

"Leave my friend alone!"

Black*Star sliced at the Witch's wings with the Enchanted Sword, dodging her frantic kicks. Suddenly, Lord Death burst out of the feather pile. Mighty claws extended from his arms, and he scratched the Witch with them. She lost her ability to fly and crashed to ground level. Maka picked up her scythe.

"What's wrong, Avianna? Are we too much for you?"

Avianna glowered at the girl.

"In my current form, yes. In my other form…"

Avianna shined brightly and became cloaked in bright light. Maka could point out a faint sight of claws and a wing. Once the light faded, Maka's jaw dropped.

"…Not so much!"

Avianna had become a bird with golden-brown plumage and a comb with, what should have been, a red tip. Avianna's, however, was blue. She twinkled with golden stars.

_A shiny Staraptor!_

Avianna was unlike any other Staraptor Maka had seen in her journies throughout Sinnoh. She was gigantic. Every beat of her wings whipped up a chilling breeze.

"Don't let her size fool you, Maka. We can do this," Soul sniggered.

Maka took a deep breath, and she put her fear behind her.

"Is that it, Avianna?"


	20. Chapter 20 ,Fiery Resonance!

Avianna summoned a harsh tailwind. Maka could feel it dragging her backwards. She stepped forward, but the wind blew her foot and she tripped. The giant Staraptor soared into the air, and dived down on Maka with her talons pointing outwards. Maka rolled out of the way, escaping Avianna's attack with just a few mere scratches.

"What a waste of an attack," spat Maka.

Black stripes appeared on Black*Star's face, and he struck the raptor with the shadowy streaks from his Shadow*Star attack. The diamond Pidgey broke into small pieces. Lord Death's hand grew to an enormous size. He threw a shattering punch which shoved the bird into the wall of the DWMA. The impact sent a large crack travelling up the wall, and Avianna flew out of its way as it tumbled down.

"You're supposed to be a shinigami…it's about time you started fighting like one!" the Witch crowed. She tossed numerous stars at her opponents at high speed. Lord Death smacked them back at her, and Black* Star was hit by a few of them. Maka blocked them with her scythe. Avianna felt her blood boil. She tensed her wing muscles, and they took on a metallic shine.

"Steel Wing!"

Avianna tore Lord Death's veil with one wing, and slapped him with the other. Once he had hit the ground, he appeared to be unconscious.

"LORD DEATH! Maka screamed, hurtling over to the shinigami. Avianna jabbed at her with her beak. Every hit forced the air out of the girl's lungs and she slumped onto Lord Death's veil, struggling to breathe.

"You'll never beat us! We're too strong for you!"

"Black*Star…" Maka mumbled, only to be completely ignored by him.

"You can't even beat me, and I'm just a kid! Doesn't that make you wonder just how USELESS YOU ARE?"

"Black*Star, she'll ki-"

"And you'll definitely NEVER defeat me!"

Black*Star also interrupted Tsubaki; he was too absorbed in his inflated sense of his own strength to listen to anyone. Meanwhile, Avianna began to gain altitude.

"BLACK*STAR!"

"Shut up, Maka! I haven't finished yet ! And do you wanna know why you won't defeat me, Witch? It's because I'm Black*Star, the world's greatest assassin! I WILL SURPASS-"

Blood squirted from his chest. His face pictured the same startled expression as Kid's did when Maka witnessed his death. Avianna's beak drilled through his chest.

"…God…"

Tsubaki automatically returned to human form, but there was nothing she could do to help her meister. Avianna tore open his chest with her talons. She ripped out his heart and pecked at it delightfully, making the most of the time she had to rest; Tsubaki and Maka were too stunned to move.

"Maka…"

No reply.

"Maka."

Nothing.

"Maka? Are you there? Hello? We're in the middle of a fight," Soul said, gently moving in her hand.

Maka shook her head, and tightened her grip.

"Let's go! SOUL RESONANCE!"

Maka decided to try out something different. She focused on both Soul and Vulpix at the same time. She reflected on the time when she had first received her Vulpix, and tried to merge that with her memories of first meeting Soul. She could see a white- haired boy with a Vulpix laying on his lap. He gently stroked its sublime fur.

"_You wanna hear something I made up not too long ago?"_

Maka smiled, and Soul's fingers danced on the keys like spiders' legs. Vulpix pounced off of his lap and hid behind Maka's leg. All of a sudden, Maka felt overcome by her power and screeched at the top of her voice.

"Maka! What's going on?" Soul gasped, as the trio's combined souls expanded into a fiery sphere.

"I…DON'T KNOW…BUT I KNOW WE'LL DEFINITELY KILL THE WITCH!"

Avianna crossed her wings, and swiftly spread them to unleash a Heat Wave attack that blended with the fiery soul. The added power overwhelmed the meister. Once the fire dispersed, all that was left was a very still Maka lying on the floor, badly burned.

"It's all over, Maka Albarn…"


	21. Chapter 21 ,Tsubaki takes on the Witch!

The shiny Staraptor flew up high, and charged down. She took on a cyan-coloured glow as she hurtled down. Tsubaki sliced off her beak with her hair, which she had turned into a Chain Scythe.

"You leave my friends alone, Witch!" She cried, as Avianna pressed down hard on her face to suppress the blood; Tsubaki was heartbroken enough from watching Black*Star die, and she was not going to let Avianna kill Maka, too.

Tsubaki freed her mind of her fear, and gave the bird a frightening glare.

Avianna charged at her and alternated between punching her with her feet closed like a fist, and kicking her with her talons outstretched. One of them caught Tsubaki's leg and left a large cut on it.

"Come on, Witch. Do that again."

Tsubaki waited for the raptor to strike and parried by holding the Chain Scythe to Avianna's talons. She swiftly turned to the side, and hacked off two of her toes. Pain was apparent on Avianna's face. Tsubaki made good use of her time to check on Maka.

"Tsu…Tsubaki?"

"Maka, you have to get up! Look!" Tsubaki replied, pointing to the injured bird.

Maka managed to heave herself off of the floor a little, and she stuck her scythe into the ground and used it to stand. She cleared her thoughts, did her best to ignore the searing pain, and focused on killing Avianna once and for all.

" Did that hurt, Avianna?" Maka chuckled. "Do you want some more?"

Maka chopped off Avianna's leg. The shiny Staraptor thrashed about trying to attack her, but Maka's fury was too much to bear.

"Come on, Witch! If I can fight with all of these injuries, so can you! Stop being such a baby!" Maka shouted.

The bird faded into a shadow that began to shrink into the shape of a human. She seemed to retain her wounds. Her lips were completely missing, leaving only gums and teeth. She tried to yell at Maka, but with no lips to shape her words, all that had come out of her throat were indecipherable growls. Maka tossed Vulpix to the floor.

"Let's resonate, Soul! Let's finish her-"

_If you kill me, you will kill him too._

Maka took a reluctant step back.

"Soul..." she whispered, "I can't kill her. You'll die if I-"

"Just do it, Maka. Kick her ass."

Maka nodded, and announced that she and Soul resonate. Maka made the most of the last resonance she would ever do with Soul as her partner. She thought deeply about the times they shared together, the good and the bad.

_You read a lot, so you're boring. And you have fat ankles!_

_Back away! I won't let you touch my meister!_

_As a cool guy, I'm used to seeing naked women._

_There's no way a cool guy like me would go for a girl with such small breasts!_

Soul became the glittering blade that Maka had hoped for.

"Goodbye, Soul…" she whispered, this time with a smile on her face.

"See ya later, Maka. Don't get so clingy this time, okay?"

Maka lunged at the Witch with her Witch Hunter scythe. The blade slashed through her chest, and reappeared at the other side with her cold heart on the other end, still pumping thick blood. Lord Death lifted his head and rubbed it.

"Ouch! I took quite a beating, didn't I?" He said to himself.

"AGH!"

"Maka!" Soul cried.

Maka broke to the floor, clutching her chest.


	22. Chapter 22 ,What's Wrong, Maka?

Soul returned to human form and hit the ground weakly. He did as Maka did when he felt agony pool in his chest.

"Maka…" he croaked, "What's happening to you?"

"It must've been because our souls were one when we killed Avianna, that-"

"That the Witch's death not only caused my death, but…yours too?" Soul interrupted, followed by a long sigh. "I'm so sorry-"

Soul, it's fine," Maka replied, in a quiet voice. "We died victorious. We didn't quite save the DWMA…"

Maka and Soul looked ahead at the wreckage that remained of their academy.

"…But we beat the Witch, right? We won…"

Lord Death and Tsubaki approached the students, both looking extremely tearful. Maka thanked them quietly for their assistance during the battle.

"Hey, stop crying, you two. Cool people don't cry. Besides, it'll be fine… we got rid of that bitch…we got what we wanted. Right, Maka?"

Maka and Soul slowly pushed their fists together.

"Right…"

Maka and her weapon partner smiled to each other, and gently closed their eyes. Lord Death lay a reassuring arm on Tsubaki's shoulder as she wept.

"It's OK, Tsubaki. I'll miss them, too, but at least they died happy."

Tsubaki smiled a little. "I guess you're right. Thanks."

Tsubaki looked over to what was left of the academy.

"But what are we going to do about the DWMA?"


	23. Chapter 23 ,The Calm After the Storm

Tsubaki and Lord Death wondered aimlessly around the grounds of the DWMA, avoiding stepping in shattered glass or wood splinters, discussing the events of the past week. Tsubaki was still very bereaved about losing her meister, but she knew from Maka's mistake that getting him back would have been too much, not to mention impossible.

"Vulpix! Vulpix!"

Vulpix bounded over to Tsubaki. It gazed into her eyes, as if to ask where her meister was.

"Aww, you're all alone, aren't you?"

Tsubaki picked up the Vulpix and hugged it. It felt wondrously warm. Its soft fur seemed to eliminate her sadness.

"Hey, Lord Death…"

Lord Death peered down to his student." Yes, Tsubaki? What is it?"

Tsubaki's eyes met Vulpix's. "Do you think you could teach a weapon to become a meister?"

**-Thank you so much!-**

**Thank you ever so much for reading all the way up to the end! Even if you read Chapter 1 and skipped straight to Chapter 24, I'm still glad you at least wanted to read my work! Thanks SO SO much for all of your wonderful reviews and comments! It really does mean a lot! I do hope you enjoyed the story!**

**If you hated it so much that you wanted to pick up a sword and drive it straight through my head,please, put down your sword and tell me why you didn't like it, if you could. I'd appreciate that :) **

**I will continue to correct the story,even though it is 'complete' so feel to suggest any changes or corrections :)**

**Here are all of the pages where I did my research, or where I looked to refresh my memory on certain things!**

**.The Soul Eater wiki**

**. The 'Soul Eater' Episodes **

**.'Bulbapedia', The Pokémon Wiki**

**Here are the things and people that inspired me to write this story!**

**. The 'Pokémon Conquest' game, and some of its soundtrack**

**.Ho-oh's Battle theme from 'Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver'**

**.From the Soul Eater OST, the songs 'Camellia', 'Soulmates' and 'M Albarn'.**

**. 8HazzardSandersdtk**

**.Gold-Bunni-123**

**-****What I will do my best to improve on my next story!-**

**.Try not to use the same words over and over**

**.Try to make action scenes flow better**

**.Better flow of dialogue**

**.Improve character death scenes **

**.Less usage of the same words (e.g become, started, and urrghhh...'fell to the floor'...**

**.**** Also, I made a mistake; Remember the newborn Vulpix? Well, a newborn Vulpix starts out with one tail, not six. LeafGreen's Vulpix Pokédex entry says this:****  
'****When it is born, it has just one snow-white tail. The tail splits from its tip as it grows older.'**

**:) Once again,thank you very much! :)**


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